Smartphone App Lets You Play With Shelter Cats

Wouldn't it be great if you could check out the cats at a shelter before actually stepping foot inside one? With Petcube, you can do just that. The interactive video camera device, along with the free Petcube app, allows users to see cats at the shelter and even play laser tag with the felines thanks to the the Petcube for Shelters program, as reported by Caster.com. It's a whole new way for adoptable cats to get noticed, and it's got rescue groups pretty excited.

"People aren't going to be driving by and noticing us, so any bit of exposure we can get is huge," said Amber Holly, founder of Saving Grace cat rescue in San Francisco. "The Petcube company actually watches the cats too and notices when there's new ones, and they'll feature them on their website, which really helps."

Turns out that helping shelter animals get noticed was all part of the plan.

"We were actually designing this device while keeping in our minds that it would be the perfect thing for pet shelters to be able to showcase all the pets," said Yaroslav Azhnyuk, co-founder and CEO of Petcube.

While Petcube is a hit amongst shelters, it's also available to anyone who wants to keep an eye on their pet at home.

"Having your pet connected to the Internet means you can talk to your pet anytime, [and] you can share your pet with anyone easily," Azhnyuk said.

That said, the device works not just for cats, but dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, and any other pets you may have and want to stay connected with while you're out.